The Dragon in Summer
by KSherwood
Summary: At the request of my brother, this is a reworking of "The Lion in Winter" set in the Fire Nation (they fit together surprisingly well). It's Midsummer, and Ozai lets Iroh out of jail for the holiday. He also has a special announcement to make regarding the future of the Fire Nation. Features an OC, in the form of Lady Sue (Soo-ay).
1. Chapter 1

"You know that's a futile gesture," Ozai said. "I must go and meet my family, and you shall come with me. Either with your hair up or not."  
With a sigh, Sué began to tie her long hair into a tidy bun, "Ozai, we can't continue this depraved relationship if I'm to marry you."  
"Why not? Your family doesn't mind."  
"Fire Lords don't marry their mistresses; it isn't done. People will talk."  
"I am the Fire Lord. Who are they to meddle in my loves and hates? Sué, throughout my career as prince, politician, and monarch, I've found many things to hate, but only one to love—you."  
"And Azula."  
"Azula is my daughter."  
She frowned at her reflection in the large mirror, "And Ursa."  
"How many husbands do you know who banish their wives for treason? It wasn't out of passionate attachment."  
"You could have burned her."  
Ozai took her hand and kissed it. "When I say we'll be married, we shall. If I say we're through, you and I are through."  
She rose. "If I decided to be trouble, how much trouble could I be?"  
"At this moment I have all the enemies I need. Don't become one, too. Iroh's not even here yet, and already I can hear him singing treason. And that's Azula seething in the background. The buzzing underneath is Zuko."  
"I know you plan to disinherit him."  
"So does Zuko. So does Azula, and so does my brother. We're very frank about such matters."  
"How is Iroh?"  
"Decaying, I had hoped. Reports from the tower tell me to anticipate disappointment," he looked out the window. "And there's the barge. Let's go and look."  
Sué resignedly took his arm.

The barge docked, and slowly, thanking the crew as he walked, the Dragon of the West, exited.  
"The dragons didn't fly you, brother?" Ozai asked.  
"They chased away the clouds, so I'd have a pleasant journey," Iroh replied. "I didn't want to get greedy. How kind of you to let me out of jail."  
"Only for the holiday."  
"As long as I get dusted off occasionally. Ah, here's Lady Sué."  
She bowed nervously.  
"No, no," Iroh embraced her. "Like this. I may be old, but I'm not fragile."  
The faces of Zuko and Azula appeared behind their father, and Iroh released Sué.  
"Ozai," he said. "You do have handsome children. Prince Zuko, try not to look so sullen, you'll look like a hog-sheep. And Azula—serene as ever I see."  
"I won't kiss a traitor's hairy cheek," she sniffed.  
Zuko growled, "What you kiss, little sister, is your business."  
"Just remember that you still have no honor, Zuzu."  
"You hardly know me since my journey—believe the stories."  
"Now listen," Iroh stepped between his niece and nephew. "You can't both be Fire Lord."  
"We can both try," Azula slouched forward, shrugging one shoulder.  
Ozai tapped her on the back, and she stood up straight. "That makes you the type of children I want."  
"It's no wonder… you used to make all the ladies Father suggested for you face you in a duel," Iroh mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.  
"I will be Fire Lord," Zuko declared. "I'll have my honor back, the Avatar, and the throne, and I won't give up anything. Not my birth-right."  
He stalked back into the palace.  
Ozai looked at Azula, whose eyes were glued on her brother. "Go in."  
She jerkily turned to him, her eyes wide. "Did I do something wrong?"  
"Go in and eat. And stand up straight!"  
Azula ran to do her bidding, and Lady Sué shivered.  
"I don't like your children," she said.  
"You did like Lu Ten," Iroh reminded her.  
The young woman moved closer to Ozai, although he gave her no sign of affection or protection. "There's no honor in hurting me—it's too easy."  
"I still think of you as a daughter. You really think I could hurt you?"  
"Iroh, with all your chi blocked!"  
She turned and walked swiftly back inside.  
Ozai smiled and turned to his older brother, "She is lovely, isn't she?"  
"Yes. Very," Iroh sighed.  
"She'll make an excellent queen."  
"Queen?"  
"Yes. I suppose I shall have to let you out again for the wedding, won't I? Nothing in life is ever perfect."  
"Nor should it be. A wedding would be nice, though. Prince Zuko could play the tsungi horn; he's quite skilled."  
"I'll never let you out permanently."  
"I know. You know you're only Fire Lord because I let you keep the throne."  
Flame erupted around Ozai's hands. "That's a lie!"  
"Yet you care," Iroh yawned. "Let's go in. I could do with a pot of tea."  
The Fire Lord followed him into the palace. "If you oppose me, Iroh, I will burn you."


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko stood in the doorway of Iroh's room, but his uncle didn't turn around and kept writing out tags for a series of wrapped presents. The prince slammed the door and Iroh turned around.  
"I've come," Zuko announced.  
"Ah, Prince Zuko," Iroh filled his arms with packages. "You can help me carry these downstairs."  
"Is that all you wanted? Help you could get from a servant? You're scheming, uncle."  
"I just want to talk; we haven't in a while. You never visit me in prison."  
Guiltily, he looked at the ground, "Father won't allow it."  
"I suspected as much. As a matter of fact, though, it was your father I wanted to talk about."  
"I knew it. That's the uncle I remember."  
"If you don't want to hear it, I can carry the packages myself."  
"No, I'll stay because you'll tell me anyway."  
"I talk a lot, I know. Even to myself—it's a habit I picked up in prison. It's how I know there's still somebody at home."  
"Well, I'm listening."  
"Has he spoken of wedding plans?"  
"Everyone knows about the painted woman, uncle."  
Iroh raised his voice. "Don't speak of my son's fiancée like that!"  
"Father's fiancée."  
"Whoever's fiancée. She's a good girl; she's dear to me." He sighed, "She's also treated like a Pai Sho tile, poor child."  
"She's not a child. I'm not a child."  
"You're a good boy, but like the tsungi horn—always on one note. Haven't you thought about what your father's remarriage could mean for you and Azula?"  
Zuko scowled around the packages but didn't speak.  
"Children often follow a marriage," the old man pointed out.  
The prince gagged, "I don't want to think about that!"  
"More heirs," Iroh continued. "Being firstborn might not mean anything, as I can attest. You say you want your birthright? You could become an extra prince, if you don't keep your eyes open and think through your situation."  
"Do you think I could be Fire Lord?"  
"A splendid one, if you learn a little more."  
Zuko smiled then looked sullen again. "Now you've told me. What do you want?"  
"I want to help you. You know I think of you as my own son," they began to distribute the parcels around a large table in the royal family's sitting room. "Remember when I taught you my special lightning move? What I want is for you to trust me like that again."  
He dropped the last present on the table, trying to keep his face hidden from his uncle, although his voice cracked when he said, "I know."  
Iroh set his last two parcels down and hugged his nephew. Zuko didn't push him away.  
He did, however, a moment later when they heard footsteps. Azula strode in and joined them by the table.  
"Father has an announcement to make," she said, eyeing the presents. "He wants us all in the throne-room."  
Zuko and Iroh looked at each other but didn't move or speak.  
Azula suddenly snatched up one of the boxes. "Is this for me? I love Midsummer, but I hope this isn't another doll."  
"What is this about?" Zuko asked.  
She returned the gift to the table, "Father didn't say, and I didn't presume to ask. You should get ready—the Fire Lord shouldn't be kept waiting."  
"We'll go as we are."  
Interestingly, Ozai was not on his dais when Zuko, Azula, and Iroh arrived. He stood on the floor, with Lady Sué on his arm.  
"Children, brother," he greeted them. "The time has come for an official announcement of my betrothal. We shall be married at the end of the summer."  
"And Mother will be repudiated?" Azula's voice and posture remained steady, but Zuko and Iroh each took a step away from her all the same.  
The Fire Lord nodded, "Yes, but you and your brother needn't worry. Whatever children we have will not replace you or Zuko, who will remain heir to the throne."  
Sué and Zuko gaped at each other. He found his voice first, "I have no sense of humor, or else I'd laugh."  
"I have a sense of humor, and I'm not laughing," Iroh put in. "What game are you playing, Ozai?"  
"It's no game," he smiled.  
"No," Zuko stepped forward. "You never give me anything. You'd make me travel all the way across the world first. There's something else you want."  
"Yes," his father said. "We've been at war for 100 years. I want to win the war, and I want to be succeeded without incident or infighting—strong children who want the throne are the kind I'm proud to have, but I'm stopping this before it even starts. I get what I want."  
Zuko turned and left the throne-room. Iroh watched him and in doing so caught sight of Azula's face. He started.  
"Er, what's your mood, I wonder," he said.  
"Why, pure delight," she smiled prettily, something even Ozai found unnerving. "How could I not be when the Fire Lord is pleased?"  
She bowed and exited the room. Lady Sué looked anything but delighted.  
"I hardly know who's to be congratulated," Ozai's betrothed lamented.  
"Zuko, apparently," Iroh said. "Though he seems to doubt whether your promises are any good."  
"Tell him it's no good asking if the air is good when there's nothing else to breathe," the Fire Lord said.  
"Exactly what I always say. Well, now… why don't we further celebrate your happiness by opening our gifts?"  
"I marvel at you, Iroh. So much older than me, yet still a child."  
"At my age there isn't much else to be. Want to guess what yours is? It's the heaviest?"  
"We exchange presents at noon tomorrow—I can wait."  
"Suit yourself," Iroh backed towards the door. "Well, I shall leave you. It's high-time I visited my old garden. The rocks should be nicely baked."  
Once the former general was out of the room, Lady Sué shook off Ozai's arm. "You promised me that our children would succeed you."  
He looked at her in surprise. "Back there—you don't think I meant that?"  
"Then that whole scene? That's all it was?"  
"Look at them, Sué. Zuko—from the cradle on, Ursa cradled him. Now he's a coward, and I'll never see him Fire Lord. And Azula… that's an accomplishment. I've watched her break her toys, cripple turtle-ducks, and burn her servants, and she's not a child. She knows her own strength far too well."  
"She's your daughter."  
"Ours will be better. We'll have to name the first boy Sozin, though. After that—what's wrong?"  
"Ozai, what would you have to do with them?"  
"You've lost me. Who?"  
"Your children. If something were to happen to you—you don't think Azula would let me replace her mother, and our children replace her?"  
"She wouldn't dare do a thing like that."  
"She would! She's the kind of child you're proud to have, who fights for what she wants."  
The fires behind them rose dramatically, but Sué stood her ground. A moment later they died down to what they had been.  
Ozai stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I need a little time, and I have a pack of generals to speak to in a moment. Go on—I'll see you at dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

She walked out to the gardens. As Sué approached the pond and the turtle-ducks, she heard the sound of Iroh singing.  
"Leaves from the vine  
Falling like snow  
Like fragile, tiny shells  
Drifting in the foam,"  
Aware of her approach, he stopped singing and turned around. Seeing that it was Sué, he smiled. "No one else is merry. I might as well be solemn."  
"Ozai is with the generals."  
"Good, we can talk behind his back." They sat down on the grass beside the pond, and the turtleducks swam over.  
She smiled at the little animals, her eyes downcast.  
Iroh looked at her with concern, "Why aren't you happy?"  
Sué lifted her eyes slowly. "I've tried feeling pity for you, but it keeps turning into something else. You've lost so much, but you're like them, too. You're so deceitful, you pretend to take a nap when you're thirsty."  
He nodded, now keeping his eyes down.  
"Were you always like this?"  
"No," he admitted. "The years have changed me—particularly the last five."  
She looked up. "Do you know what I should like for Midsummer?"  
He waited.  
"I want a moment without façade or deception."  
"Sué," a tear rolled down Iroh's cheek. "Just for you."  
She began to cry and fell into his arms like a child. He held her and comforted her, singing again.  
"Little soldier boy  
Come marching home  
Brave soldier boy  
Comes marching home."


	4. Chapter 4

Zuko wandered into the garden, closely followed by Azula. They paused awkwardly at the sight of Iroh and Sué. After a moment, the prince coughed delicately, and Iroh stopped singing. Lady Sué got to her feet, bowed, and retreated back inside.  
"Yes, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked.  
He hesitated a few seconds then said, "Did Father rehearse that, or was it improvised? Either way, he was better than the Ember Island Players."  
"Good, you're thinking things through. Ozai will wait until the sun turns out and we're all blue from cold before he gives up any power."  
"Especially to me," Zuko's palms began to glow. "I know. You know. He knows we know it."  
"How knowledgeable you two are," Azula sashayed closer to the men. "Do you realize you're speaking treason?"  
"Why should that interest me," her uncle yawned. "I'm already a prisoner."  
Zuko touched his scar. "I've tried so hard to regain my honor and make Father proud… but all he does is play and mock. If I—"  
Hearing electricity crackle, he quickly turned around to see lightning at Azula's fingertips.  
"You can still die honorably, ZuZu," she said. "There's a thought."  
More quickly than she thought he was capable of being, Iroh seized her wrists.  
"Enough," he said. "We've been at war with the world for 100 years, and you're trying to kill each other? You realize that we are the origins of this war—we carry it like a plague. So many lives have been lost because the living are rotten. We could love each other, Zuko and Azula. There could be peace."  
"And what would the Avatar have done while we hugged each other?" She sneered. "Love is for fools. Fear is the only way to manage. It even controls you. You're lucky I don't go straight to Father with the news of your treason! But as it's Midsummer, I can wait."  
She turned and left.  
"Did you mean that, Uncle?" Zuko asked.  
Iroh sighed. "I did and do, but believe me… it's better to love Azula from a very safe distance."  
And Zuko smiled, very slightly.


	5. Chapter 5

Dinner that night proved to be a tense affair. Azula stared at Sué like a basilisk whenever Ozai wasn't looking, and Zuko stared at his plate. Only Iroh was in good spirits—exclaiming loudly and often about the deliciousness of the food.  
Azula bowed from the room as soon as she was finished eating, and Zuko declined the invitation to stay with his father and uncle after they had finished dessert. Ozai poured himself a bowl of embers and toasted his brother.  
"To your health, Iroh," he drank. "Well, you're finally not eating, what's on your mind?"  
"Nothing," Iroh replied. "There's nothing in my head anymore. Haven't the jailers told you? Sometimes I wonder if I'm hungry purely out of habit."  
"You're lying again. So you don't care about my promise to Zuko?"  
"Not particularly. I'm tired, Ozai. I've been tired for the last five years."  
The Fire Lord clapped his hands twice, "I almost believe you. If you want to know my plans, just ask me."  
"I just want to go to bed. No, I won't ask you."  
"You won't?"  
"Ozai, I know your mind nearly as well as I know my own."  
"If you're so smug, then why don't you care that I have no intent to keep my promise to Zuko?"  
"Ah, there you've miscalculated. I do care, but I am puzzled as to why."  
"I need more children."  
"You have children!" Fire danced in Iroh's eyes, "You should treasure them; you don't need more!"  
"'Treasure them?' Look at them! Zuko is your and Ursa's accomplishment—I want no part of that weak, cowardly excuse for a prince! I can't even imagine how he managed to kill the Avatar!"  
"Zuko?"  
"I have no doubt that Azula never lies to me."  
"And she's your accomplishment," Iroh stepped away from the table. "You should have her see a doctor before it's too late."  
Ozai drank and didn't speak.  
"They're your children!"  
"Like my hair and fingernails, and I'm cutting both."  
"You really mean to do it. For the last five years you've lived with everything I've lost, and now you're throwing away your richest treasure because things aren't perfect? I could—"  
The bowl shattered against the elegant floor tiles. "Yes? Is that a challenge to Agni Kai? Shall we duel now?"  
Iroh took a deep breath to calm himself. "No, I don't want to challenge you."  
Ozai used firebending to evaporate his spilled drink.  
The retired general continued, "Of course, we both know I'd win. I was always the better bender."  
A black scorch mark appeared on the floor where the bowl of embers had been. Ozai turned around, his eyes literally burning.  
"I'll show you," he growled then wrenched open the door and shouted at whoever happened to be nearby, "Get me a priest! Someone dig me up a priest!"  
Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I haven't heard him shout like that in twenty years… perhaps I went too far."  
He followed his younger brother down the hall. Azula, Zuko, and Sué came running. Sué looked as if she'd left her bath; her hair was down, her face was make-up free, and she was wearing a thin, pale orange robe. Zuko pointedly did not look at her.  
"What happened?" The prince asked.  
"Has there been an attack?" Azula added.  
"The Fire Lord is getting married," Ozai said, taking Sué's arm.  
Zuko couldn't keep from asking, "What? Now?"  
"The speed of your mind amazes me," Azula sneered.  
"Shut up."  
Ozai steered his betrothed towards Iroh, "You can give the bride away."  
"What are you doing?" Sué demanded.  
"Keeping my promise," he answered.  
"To whom?" Iroh asked, "There are so many."  
A servant ran into the hallway, stopped short at the sight of the royals, and bowed deeply. "The priest is ready, Fire Lord."  
"We won't keep him waiting," Ozai said, and the man disappeared.  
"Which promise are you keeping?" Sué repeated Iroh's question, looking from the Fire Lord to the prince and princess.  
"Yours, of course," he replied affectionately.  
"I knew it!" Zuko exclaimed, "More lies… you lie all the time! Azula has that of you."  
Azula jerkily folded her arms and snapped, "You've certainly inherited a penchant for treason. Shall I tell Father what I overheard in the garden today?"  
"It's not treason if it's common-knowledge."  
Ozai let go of Sué and threw his arms in the air. "What is this? Must we begin every meal with who we love and who we hate? Fine, then…."  
"I am the heir to the throne," Zuko interrupted.  
"You're heir to what I give you," his father replied. "And you'll get nothing from me! Neither of you! You're not mine, and I hope all your flames are smothered!"  
For a second, dead-silence reigned—as silent as the Avatar room of the Southern Air Temple. Sué looked shocked, Iroh sad and worried, and Ozai still seethed.  
"I already knew," Zuko said, but he looked at Iroh as he spoke.  
Azula, whose face had been unreadable, suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. Then it was mixed with sobbing, which she seemed powerless to control.  
"You think I'm a monster, too," she pointed at Ozai, laughing and crying at the same time. "You and Mother. And Sué, too. No one likes me—if I went up in flames no one would pee on me to put the fire out!"  
She brought fire to her fingertips and set her robe on fire. For a second the others were mesmerized in horror, then Ozai quickly grabbed her and beat out the flames. Azula fainted, as the flames extinguished.  
The Fire Lord cursed under his breath, "That's not what I intended."  
Sué put her hand against his cheek, "No one thought that."  
"I could have conquered the world by now if not for my family," Ozai stood all the way up, the unconscious Azula still held securely in his arms.  
"It has been a long day," Iroh sighed.  
The Fire Lord looked at the people around him. "Get out. I don't want you here."  
"It's no great pleasure to be here," Zuko glared at him.  
"Go. I give you free reign of the palace—just go."  
"Ozai," Lady Sué spoke up quietly.  
"Go to your room," he said, though his voice softened.  
With a sad look, she obeyed. Silently, Iroh and Zuko began to walk down the hallway towards the main entrance to the palace. After watching their departure for a moment, Ozai carried Azula to her room.  
Zuko looked at his uncle, "It's midnight, you're going back to prison, Azula's gone mad, my life has been in vain, and you're smiling?"  
Iroh laughed, turning with glistening eyes. "It's the way I register despair."  
"Uncle… about Ba Sing Se, I—," His gaze dropped to the ground; he couldn't bring himself to say any more.  
The Dragon of the West hugged him affectionately, "But you'll let me out of jail."  
Surprised, Zuko looked up. "Yes, and we can do this all over again."  
"Next time, we'll win," Iroh climbed into the barge that would return him to prison and waved goodbye.  
Zuko began to laugh as he waved back, "Do you think there's any chance of it?"


End file.
